FREIGHT SOFTWARE GUIDE\\\


The Charles Gee Group, one of the UK’s oldest established shipping companies and founded in 1887, has become one of the country’s most progressive, says chairman Stephen Anderson. Alongside investing in a modern, specialised truck fleet for products such as paper and aerospace, it has its ‘Geenius’ customs and trade tool, designed to analyse and manage all aspects of companies’ customs operations. Anyone who imports goods


into the UK is subject to HMRC who, it has to be said, are fond


of squeezing as much cash as they can out of companies. “We clawed back £880,000 for one firm,” Anderson recalls. While the big accountancy


firms do offer a similar service, Charles Gee is the only company that can apply the knowledge of a 125-year-old freight forwarder to the process. “We understand the supply chain; we have people who sit on the Joint Customs Consultative Committee, for instance,” Anderson points out. Charles Gee doesn’t charge big accountant prices, either, he suggests.


Impatex goes pan-European


With European customs rules now 80% harmonised, now is the time to start developing a pan- Continental package, says the managing director of Impatex Freight Soſtware, Peter Day. “We changing our existing customs manager package, which is getting on for 12-13 years old now, into a European package,” he explains. There will be no need to run a


different package for operations in each country. Instead, a reserved area on the screen will show where the major issues and differences are in the country selected. It will also be multilingual; while most people involved in forwarding and freight speak and understand English, there is oſten a legal requirement to make the local language available, Day says. Impatex is mid-way through the


process of migrating its corporate customers from its existing Customs Manager (CM) product to its new Integrated Customs Europe package. For smaller firms, it offers


Netfreight, a browser-based product that can be operated on a remote server or the customer’s own and has a Windows-like


Now is the time to go Continental, says Peter Day


appearance. It does much more than just Customs as the smaller firms usually also want a freight management, booking and track and trace capability. (The larger corporate firms that use CM or ICE usually have their own systems to handle these functions.) “It’s server- rather than


Cloud-based,” Day says. “Some companies are comfortable with having these sorts of functions on the Cloud, but others want it on their own server.” As an added bonus, users can


access Netfreight on their mobile applications – these days at 38,000 feet if you travel on the right airline. IATA’s adoption of a new


protocol for electronic airwaybills is encouraging, says Day. E-AWBs have seen a strong uptake in the US, where using them cuts ICS charges from $20 to $2 and while there is not the same imperative in the UK, he is convinced that their usage will now start to increase. One advantage of the Netfreight


system is that if both the exporting and importing party are using it, the export entry can become the basis of the import entry in the destination country.


Not everyone needs the same


freight and Customs software. So why make them all use one product?


There will be much more emphasis on mobile applications in future freight technology predicts Boxtop’s Chris Hewlett. With iPads, iPhones and similar already the executive’s tool of choice, mobile apps are also increasingly being adopted by drivers, sales people and all others involved in the supply


chain. And rather than relying on emails, people want access to whatever is on their office PC while they’re on the move. “People are now much less


frightened of technology, and


they’re grasping the


opportunities,” says Hewlett. Boxtop’s focus has always been the freight forwarder – customs tools, purchase


Issue 4 2013


Get your own back We’re all mobile now, says Boxtop boss on the customs man


order management – and so on – but margins are being squeezed and every software release tends to include more applications for the same price, Hewlett says. Like other software


providers, Hewlett believes that IATA’s latest agreement on e-AWBs can only increase their uptake, although political


although


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pressures from governments anxious to preserve jobs might mean that paper versions linger on, especially in the developing world. And in oceanfreight, electronic ‘express’ bills of lading are being increasingly used,


some users


have misgivings about making a document of title available electronically.


One size doesn’t fit all...


Impatex provides flexible solutions for everyone: from large, multi-national agents to small, single outlet forwarders. From major customs-broking operators to shippers who prefer to do their own clearances.


Full web-based forwarding, frontier Customs, warehousing and CRM in a single SQL package


• Access from any web-enabled device inc iPad • Air, Ocean, Road, Courier and Domestic • Imports and Exports with UK and US Customs • Online bookings/quotes with track and trace • Quotations with job conversion • Multi-currency job costing and invoicing • User-defineable documents and reports • Comprehensive rates for fast quotes • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) • Warehouse Management system (WMS) • Permissions, milestones & audit facilities


Heavyweight Customs system for major users with high volumes of entries


• Designed for pan-European Customs • Multi-lingual & multi-country • Frontier Import, ERTS & Export Customs • New Community Transit System (NCTS) • Excise Movement Control System (EMCS) • Registered Excise Dealer System (REDS) • Links to all UK port & airport DTI systems • Duty Management & CPEI via CM • Robust SQL database • Generic link for operational system


With a proud history of innovation, no wonder Impatex is the UK’s leading supplier of Customs and freight forwarding software, used by most major multinationals, hundreds of SMEs . . . and a growing customer base throughout Europe and the USA.


Before you choose your next Customs or forwarding software, make sure it’s the right fit. Make sure it’s Impatex.


the right fit for everyone in freight Find out more: 0845 4590416 or www.impatex.com


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